something small, something notable

Berlin is so different from anywhere else I have ever been. It's like some giant counter-cultural movement/city. For instance, where else would you say twice in one day, "I just had an amazing conversation with a really cute homeless guy." Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's Berlin..you can decide.

Since I have gotten here I have found really cozy cafes, bookstores, and pubs where the people are actually really friendly. Today I met a German grad student and we talked for about an hour. I have noticed that the hardest part of conversing with someone who's first language is not english is interpreting humor across the language barrier. I mean, this guy spoke great english but it still took a lot for one another to register sarcasm or jokes....I don't think I am really describing it correctly but it was just something very strange that I had never really thought about before

anyway he told me about this new type of art known as "reverse graffiti." What these graffiti artists do is create a stencil of a flower, for instance, and put it on a dirty wall. Then they power wash over the stencil. The result is a beautiful, clean, white flower on a  grimy wall. It is supposed to be art and an environmental stand all on the wall of a subway. Its apparently happening all over but I just saw one in Berlin and it was really beautiful and different.

Here is a youtube link of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjmSqMRcegg

this is what i've been reduced to...

but the spicy one is actually decent...kinda

Mumford and Sons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHWsKTSdS74

great song. great band.

Things thus far in Berlin

I just heard about the coolest bar/venue in Berlin. I looked it up and I am including a little blurb about it:


 Badeschiff ('Bathing ship')

Past the gritty, industrial sprawl of a decommissioned bus depot lies a scene straight out of Ibiza: tight bods bronzing in the sand, hipsters carousing at the bar and hotties cooling off in the blue water of … wait a minute. No, it's not the Mediterranean but a former river barge turned swimming pool anchored in the Spree River. After sundown, the Badeschiff morphs into an alfresco night club, and in winter they add a couple of saunas and cover everything with an eerily glowing, futuristic membrane.

How crazy does that sound??

So, I finally feel settled enough to begin my To Do List and actually read through my guidebook for things to do in Berlin. There is so much and it is super overwhelming. Most of the things I want to see are museums, but then there are those little things you just stumble across...I am most excited about those. The other day I was walking along the Unter den Linden and found that there was a memorial to the book burning that took place there. A few steps away there was this piece of plexiglass instead of the ground...when you looked through the glass you could see an empty room below you. In that room was about a dozen bookcases all with missing books. It was this eerie, phenomenal way of commemorating the book burning that took place there after Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. The quote, "where books are burned, in the end people will burn," is present on the memorial plaque. Heinrich Heine who wrote these words in 1820, a full hundred and fifteen years before the Holocaust. 

Today I also went to the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe. It is a full square block and consists of concrete slabs of all different sizes arranged in rows. They are all on uneven ground and create a maze of sorts. It sounds random and even looks it from the outside but after walking through it, especially on a gloomy day like today, you can't escape the feeling that you can't escape. The blocks are about 2 feet high in the first two rows but as you get deeper and deeper, the blocks get larger until you cannot see the street any longer. It feels like you are walking through a graveyard of proportions you cannot fathom...which is, essentially, what you are doing. 

There is also a small museum downstairs, in the so-called "coffin" of the memorial. There was a concise history of the Nazi take-over, but the impact really came with the 10 or so family stories they told. One wall would focus on one family, would provide photos and family background and would show where they fleed to in hopes of being spared and where they ended up. In almost all cases only one or two family member survived. This really personalized everything for me and made it more understandable and tragic. When you hear six million people were killed in concentration camps, it is too overwhelming to feel grief for all those people. But when you hear of a close-nit family of four and learn what they did, where they lived and studied...it all becomes way more intense. I'll never forget a letter a mother wrote to her children saying, "I'm hugging you right now, with my tears," or a letter from a twelve-year-old to her Father saying, "I'm really scared because I know they throw the young people into the pits still alive. Goodbye forever. I love you tenderly." I cried for an hour straight. 

It has also been interesting to see how Germans discuss World War II and the Holocaust. I guess their numerous museums and memorials and even the Bundestag's glass cupola, which stands for transparency, tries to show that they are not trying to forget the things that happened. It is still a very sensitive subject...for instance in the Neue Wache, a very old building on the Unter den Linden, the government put a memorial to the victims of war and violent rule. 

This caused outrage because it implied that the site commemorated not only Holocaust victims but the perpetrators or members of the Nazi army. 

Potsdam and Dresden

Unfortunately I woke up this Thursday with an incredibly sore throat, body aches, and an annoying head cold, probably a result of a too fun Wednesday night that involved a lot of mojitos. Everyone in my program was getting this 'cold' though and my lack of sleep probably intensified it. Alas, for me, it is a very quiet Saturday night and I am sipping on a bottle of (legally bought) red wine in my apartment in Prenzlauer Berg...hard life, huh? I figured I should use this as an opportunity to write about my trip to Potsdam and Dresden. 

Potsdam is technically part of the metropolitan area of Berlin but when you step off the train platform, you feel like you are in another world. Berlin's metropolis feel can be overwhelming, to the point that one forgets or loses the fact that it is so old and rich with history. Of course there are reminders, when walking down the Unter den Linden or the Museum Island, but for the most part it is the boutiques, cafes, restaurants, and bars that grab hold of one's attention. However, in Potsdam, it is ALL about the history and the distinctly European feel. Potsdam is the Versailles of France. It was at one point the capital (before Berlin seized that title) and was the residence of the Prussian kings. Their we visited the New Palace, built in order to celebrate Prussia's win in the Seven Years War. The New Palace was built as a guest house with 200 rooms...........

A fragment of the New Palace.

We took a tour of the palace and they actually made us wear slippers over our shoes in order to preserve the floors. The rooms were beautiful, ornate, and over the top. It was amazing to see a room in which Voltaire once slept. The garden of the New Palace was also incredible...and huge. 

After the Palace, we went into town and passed through the Dutch Quarter, which is comprised of a few very narrow streets with a ton street vendors selling local goods. We also went to Babelberg Park which was picturesque to say the least. 

Babelsberg also housed the site where the Potsdam Conference took place, in which Truman, Churchill, and Stalin all met and decided what to do with Germany after the Nazi Party surrendered a few weeks before. (This site had previously been used as a torture center for the SS and has a rather gory history in addition to the Potsdam Conference.)

(Also, weirdly built to look like a face)

Since Dresden is about a 3 hour bus ride away, we stayed there for a full weekend...and it was spectacular. Just like Potsdam, it was impossible to forget you were in Europe...and an old Europe at that. Dresden has an incredible historical center and has essentially just finished (within the last few years) the repairs on buildings that were mostly destroyed during the fire bombings in WWII. (The city was air raided for two days in 1945 and killed mostly civilians.) Nonetheless, the city has regained it majestic feel and is an incredible place to visit. It is the home of the Albertinum Museum, which houses a Degas statue that I was very excited to see, and the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. The Sistine Madonna is located in the latter, most famous for the two angels in the lower quadrant of the painting. 

. 

The other buildings in Dresden were amazing...you can tell which bricks are old and which are new by the color of the stones. The older ones will be darker and almost black (they are made of sandstone which oxidizes) while the newer ones will be a beige. It is also located on the water, so we took a boat cruise and I remember feeling purely euphoric, looking out onto the water on a beautiful day and having that be enough. 

One of the most exciting parts for me was seeing the Slaughterhouses in which the book, Slaughterhouse-five takes place! No one is sure which one Kurt Vonnegut was held in as a POW, but it was still great to be able to see where the novel I once was obsessed with took place.

And not to mention...the night life in Dresden was also pretty amazing. We grabbed some shots from the equivalent of a CVS (still so weird) and drank those on the streets and then headed into a really cool club where we got a nice dose of American Pop! We also did a tour of the VolksWagen (car of the people) factory...random but cool. 

FOOOD

(Thankfully) I have yet to eat traditional German food! The city is so international that you could find whatever your heart desires. It is harder to find food without beef, pork, or ham (chicken is not as widespread as in NY) though and I have been resorting to Asian food (sushi, thai, vietnamese) and falafel (there are a ton of Turkish people here). So far I have had delicious food and for pretty cheap too. Falafel would run you about 2 euro (from a legit restaurant, not a street vendor) and the average is probably around 6 euro. 

I CANNOT FIND GOOD COFFEE HERE AND ITS PROBABLY WHAT I MISS MOST ABOUT THE STATES (second to all of you reading this of course). Even Starbucks is different.  They simply do not have coffee like us. And they use so much milk! I have resorted to espressos, which aren't bad...but I look forward to days of Venti Americanos and large DD iced coffee. 

In order to save some money, I have been food shopping and I am hoping to learn how to cook while here. Let me just say that food shopping in a country with a language foreign to your own (and when you don't even really know how to food shop in the first place) is one of the most daunting and overwhelming things I have ever done. I won't bore you with all the details but just to give you some understanding of my struggle....no exaggeration, I stood in the dairy isle looking at all the Yogurt for 20 minutes. That was the first time I went....I finally got enough courage to go back yesterday, but I went in with a list and all went well (it still took forever). A few of my friends also offered to teach me how to cook so thursday nights have become "wine and dine" nights which has been a lot of fun. 

Interesting side note: Berlin and Germany at large, is very conscious of the environment. At the grocer, you have to be prepared with your own bags . There are also no dryers (I'm hang drying clothes!), and they use minimal lighting. 

Anti-Americans

Weird side-note.

Everyone speaks English. No one wants to speak English to you if you don't speak German. If you speak German to them, they'll recognize you are American and reply in English.

A part of me gets why they are annoyed if you walk in speaking English. You are in my country try to speak my language...and I am doing just that. But I have noticed a lot of people 35 and up are pretty hostile/rude to Americans. The language barrier is sometimes really frustrating, especially when you encounter someone who has zero patience for you. It is also harder to feel one with the community and I miss those little run-ins/random exchanges with strangers. Generally if they notice that you are trying to speak their language they will warm up to you, but a good amount of the time they do not. (When you are standing in line for a club, you've gotta speak english or just be quiet if you want to increase your chances for being let in.)

nachtleben

the night life here is pretty crazy.

On average, I usually meet up with friends around 10 but we do not go out until about 11:30 or 12:00. (Fun Fact: You can drink on the street here). I've been mostly going to punk/rock clubs with electronic music or live bands. They are mostly abandoned, dirty, really cool warehouses (especially in former east berlin) with strange themes and really eccentric, cool people. I went to a bar last weekend that was entirely upside down, from the pictures hanging on the wall to the wallpaper. There was even full sets of furniture bolted to the ceiling! Another bar was filled with sand. Another was a lofted bookstore with a ton of floor cushions and books everywhere you looked (and in the day it is a cafe...this is a particularly favorite spot of mine). One of my favorite places is called Weinbar which is this amazing place where you pay 2 euro for a wine glass and then (its self-serve) you can try any wine you want (there are bottles EVERYWHERE). You can have as many glasses as possible and then at the end of the night, you are asked to donate what you can.

There isn't too much more to say about Berlin's nightlife because I have only been here for half a weekend (I was in Dresden this past weekend and the first weekend I was here I was in Potsdam from Sat-Sun) but I know that will change over the course of my time here. Overall, loving being able to go for a drink after class and be casual about it!

berlin, the beginning

In order (for myself and for others) to keep track of all my experiences while studying abroad, I decided to start a blog. However, as a late bloomer in the blogging world, I will have to sum up my past two weeks into one blog.

    After a very difficult goodbye with my mom and sister (I really had to try hard to hold it together) I boarded my plane and was off to Berlin. Previously, I was panicking about this trip but with no one saying, "WOW you're going to be in another country for FOUR months BY YOURSELF?!?" I was able to calm down and simply accept this awesome fact that I was moving to Europe for four months. When I arrived at Tegel Airport I breezed through security (surprisingly, no customs) and followed the signs for the bus I was supposed to take which would then bring me to the subway. My first challenge....getting down about 45 subway (S-Bahn) steps with a 79 pound bag and a 33 pound carry-on. Luckily, a man whom I am extremely grateful for offered me help and I gladly accepted. He then showed me how to buy a ticket and what stop I needed to get off at. I remember smiling as I sat on the train, thinking about how wonderful my first experience with a Berliner was.

I arrived at my program (IES) which is located in Mitte or Central Berlin. (Berlin has districts, similar to the boroughs in NYC but less spread out.) I then met the staff and student assistants, all of whom are incredibly warm and friendly. I then went through the awkward getting-to-know-you dance with everyone in my program (18 people, including myself) but lucked out again because everyone happens to be pretty damn awesome. I thought this semester was going to be comparable to my freshman year of college (0r sophomore year, considering I transferred) but I have found that it is much more relaxed. Everyone is 20-23 years old and, I think, a lot more comfortable with themselves, which has made these past two weeks especially fun and easy.

After filling out a ton of paperwork, I finally met my host mom. She is in her early 30s and is a teacher....she is also awesome. Some people in my program are living with families and so they are much more integrated with their hosts...since I am living with a younger woman, everything is much more independent, which I like. My host is sassy and open and very friendly, all of which makes me feel very comfortable in the apartment. AH, and for the apartment--- it is massive! I live in Prenzlauer Berg (formerly East Berlin; it is the say Williamsburg of Berlin, almost too trendy) and was expecting the apartment to be miniscule. I have a huge bathroom with a shower and a bath (also a hottub!) a large bedroom, decent sized kitched, and huge living room. EVERYTHING in Germany is Ikea so that can give you an idea of the decorations (clean, white, bare essentials). The doors are also beautiful, I open my front door with a skeleton key...how cool is that?!

the treaty!

My first few days are a blur of ice breakers, museums, bus tours, random orientation stuff. We went to Alexander Platz (where the world clock is), saw the TV tower (famous in the Berlin skyline), went to the Brandenburg Gate (probably the most famous German monument)

Brandenburg Tor

and went to the German History Museum. Getting through the tour of the museum was slow torture at first; we were exhausted and on our last wind. However, we ended with seeing a real copy of the Treaty of Versailles (!!!!), original Nazi propaganda, and pieces of the Berlin Wall. We then toured the Bundestag (German gov't building) which was known as the Reichstag during Hitler's time period (think, third reich).

An interesting little fact about this building is that an entirely glass cupola was attached on top of the building. Tourists and Germans could go up to the cupola and have an incredible view of Berlin.
 
 From inside the parliament room, one could look up and see, through the glass, the tourists and Germans walking up the cupola. I later found out that the reason for this fairly new cupola (80s i think) was to evoke transparency. The cupola makes sure that the members of parliament are constantly reminded that they are only in office because people like the ones above them voted for them. It is the people that they are working for.....anyway, I liked that idea a lot and I thought it was a sincere approach on behalf of the Germans to acknowledge their past. The one thing I haven't extensively seen yet is the wall and Checkpoint Charlie/Chaz...but I intend to do that this weekend.

the upper portion of the cupola